An enormous engineering win.
Unwrecking Ball
A 730-ton metal ball suspended inside Taiwan’s iconic Taipei 101 skyscraper protected the construction throughout the area’s 7.4-magnitude earthquake this week.
The ball is seen to the general public on the skyscraper’s 89th-floor observatory and has grow to be a well-liked vacationer attraction. Whereas it is also an exquisite object in and of itself, it serves an essential function as a “tuned mass damper,” which is a pendulum that reduces “violent swinging” and “vigorous shaking” of the constructing in robust winds — and through earthquakes.
And as CCTV footage of the town’s skyline exhibits, the system works astonishingly effectively, stopping the 101-floor tower from considerably swaying — a powerful feat of engineering that depends solely on easy physics.
Seismic Security
The earthquake, the strongest in 25 years, struck Taiwan early Wednesday morning, killing not less than 9 individuals. Many buildings fared far worse than the skyscraper, with videos displaying a number of mid-rise buildings collapsing.
Taipei 101, nonetheless, was effectively geared up to outlive the earthquake — and never simply because of its large, suspended dampener. The constructing’s foundations are linked to the bottom under through 380 piles that had been pushed over 260 ft into the bottom and nearly 100 ft straight into the bedrock.
A video exhibits the damper dramatically swaying throughout a 6.8-magnitude earthquake in 2022.
Loads of different tall buildings additionally depend on tuned mass dampers, which might sway facet to facet to counteract oscillations attributable to earthquakes. Different approaches embody diagonal braces between flooring, shear walls that take the brunt of the forces, and dampers that bodily cut back vibrations.
A very advanced method known as “seismic base isolation” includes disconnecting a whole constructing from its substructure — in some instances actually placing it on rollers — to permit it to maneuver extra freely throughout seismic exercise. This method has already been implemented in a number of main municipal buildings throughout the US.
Because of Taiwan’s location proper on high of the “Ring of Fireplace,” a particularly seismically and volcanically lively area alongside the Pacific, it possible will not be lengthy till the subsequent earthquake hits. However because of some intelligent engineering, these visiting the town’s iconic tower shall be protected.
Extra on seismology: The Earth’s Crust Flipped Upside Down in This Spot, Scientists Find
